about
Mariko Tamaki is a Toronto writer and performer with an avid interest in freaks, weirdos, and other fabulous forms of human behaviour. In the past, Mariko has appeared on stage with a variety of performance troupes, including fat activists Pretty, Porky and Pissed Off, The Corporate Wet Nurse Association, and theatre misfits TOA. In addition to her work in theatre, Mariko has published collections of creative non-fiction: True Lies: The Book of Bad Advice (2002), and Fake ID (2005), and one novella, Cover Me (2000).
Mariko is currently completing work on two graphic novels: Skim, illustrated by her cousin Jillian Tamaki which will be released by Groundwood Books in 2008 and Emiko Superstar, illustrated by Vancouver's Steve Rolston, which will be released as part of DC Comic's MINX series in Summer 2008.
In her spare time, Mariko is a columnist for Kiss Machine and Herizons, and a graduate student in Linguistic Anthropology at the University of Toronto where she studies language, performance, and gender.
Provided below a brief list of MORE things Mariko thinks are fantastic:
- Things are funny but not necessarily funny "ha ha"
- Thriving businesses run by women
- Things that are on sale but not ugly
- Scooters (obviously)
- Things that look like sumo wrestlers (including actual sumo wrestlers)
- Documentaries about people growing up/growing old/fighting the power
- Things that are knitted or embroidered or can be knitted or embroidered
- Things that are green
- Cats
- Peace and quiet
- Any music with a good beat
- Dinner parties